I finally got my video together from my April trip to Lembeh Strait. What a fantastic dive destination! We had the pleasure of staying at NAD Lembeh Resort and they were great.

Macro with DSLR can be challenging! Please tell me the things you think I could improve on. I am always looking to improve, and only being able to do 2 dive trips a year, I try to learn as much as possible before I do a trip.

If you are looking for a few pointers then the only critique I can give is that it was rather long for watching on the internet. Normally most people max out at 5 mins and I'd rarely watch something over that if wasn't a documentary or didn't at least have some kind of story accompanying it. I know it is hard when you have so many excellent shots, but if you picked your very best 30% then I bet you'd have a stunning 5 min film.

I'm not a huge fan of artifical lighting and rarely use it myself, but I thought your use of lights at times was exceptional. On macro especially too many people just try to fry the subject with as much light as possible, but you had appeared to think about it and used your lights for effect. That is very difficult to do underwater, but if it is done right it can look amazing.

If you are looking for a few pointers then the only critique I can give is that it was rather long for watching on the internet. Normally most people max out at 5 mins and I'd rarely watch something over that if wasn't a documentary or didn't at least have some kind of story accompanying it. I know it is hard when you have so many excellent shots, but if you picked your very best 30% then I bet you'd have a stunning 5 min film.

I'm not a huge fan of artifical lighting and rarely use it myself, but I thought your use of lights at times was exceptional. On macro especially too many people just try to fry the subject with as much light as possible, but you had appeared to think about it and used your lights for effect. That is very difficult to do underwater, but if it is done right it can look amazing.

A big WELL DONE from me!

Cheers, Simon

Simon,

Thanks for watching it and giving me some recommendations. I do agree with you on the length of the video. It is hard to not do that!!! Deep down, I kept saying to myself it was too long.....As for the lighting. One of my two sola 4000's had the switch go bad after 3 days, so I was forced to only use one. I think this got me to be more creative with the lighting. When I used both, I was overlighting the subject. So I think it was a blessing in disguise.

Nice one Dustin. I watched the whole thing and enjoyed it. You've captured a huge array of critters there. Would be nice to throw in a few critter IDs as titles perhaps. I'm interested if you were frustrated by the lack of any zoom with that setup, and also by the shallow depth of field of using a full frame sensor for macro.

Nice one Dustin. I watched the whole thing and enjoyed it. You've captured a huge array of critters there. Would be nice to throw in a few critter IDs as titles perhaps. I'm interested if you were frustrated by the lack of any zoom with that setup, and also by the shallow depth of field of using a full frame sensor for macro.

Thanks for the recommendation Nick.

This is just my taste of video, but I don't like when video zooms in on a subject. I think it looks unnatural. I'm sure having a camera with a zoom would be tempting to use it but ultimately I like that I don't have it. I don't know if that is weird for me to think like that. But that is how I feel. I do want to get close. And after the trip I promptly purchased a couple subsee's.

As for small dof. It is a challenge. More so with faster moving subjects. It's very difficult to hand hold and get something useful. But with the tri pod and a subject that isn't moving too much, you can generally dial in a good focus. I just got back from Komodo, and on that trip I used a subsee, and that really made the dof tough. But when you nail a shot with it, it looks awesome! I found lembeh much easier to do macro than komodo. I think if you do it right the shallow dof, can really add to the film. Again, just my opinion.

I can imagine a switch from a video camera to a dslr it would be frustrating. But since I have never used a proper video camera, this is just normal for me. The reason I went with this setup, is the quality is stunning. To get an equal quality from a video camera, it costs way more, and much tougher to travel with. Plus I have an identical setup as my wife who shoots pictures, so we have spares for everything. I really dig shooting macro with it. But the destination needs to be condusive to it. Rubble sand etc... Helps.

Regarding lack of zoom I was really talking mainly about static shots at different magnifications, rather than actual dynamic zooms during shots. In Lembeh-type shooting I usually like to get multiple shots of the same subject at at least 2 levels of magnification. e.g. wide shot first and then close-up. It generally tells the story better than just the single close-ish shot and gives the piece more flow. Having said that I think dynamic zooms during a shot have their place if used sparingly and I would miss the ability to do those. As your wife and you have the same setup maybe one of you could use a lens with less magnfication and get wide/close sequences that you can intercut by both of you shooting the same subject.

I'm thinking of switching to something when I get back in the water more regularly, as my Z1 is very old tech now, but the choice is getting really mindblowing. The forthcoming GH3 interests me, but I'm concerned about the GH2's banding and lack of Nauticam glass port. I'm hesitant to go full-frame for macro because of the DOF challenges.

Regarding lack of zoom I was really talking mainly about static shots at different magnifications, rather than actual dynamic zooms during shots. In Lembeh-type shooting I usually like to get multiple shots of the same subject at at least 2 levels of magnification. e.g. wide shot first and then close-up. It generally tells the story better than just the single close-ish shot and gives the piece more flow. Having said that I think dynamic zooms during a shot have their place if used sparingly and I would miss the ability to do those. As your wife and you have the same setup maybe one of you could use a lens with less magnfication and get wide/close sequences that you can intercut by both of you shooting the same subject.

I'm thinking of switching to something when I get back in the water more regularly, as my Z1 is very old tech now, but the choice is getting really mindblowing. The forthcoming GH3 interests me, but I'm concerned about the GH2's banding and lack of Nauticam glass port. I'm hesitant to go full-frame for macro because of the DOF challenges.

Sorry I misunderstood what you were referring to with the zoom. I did feel I needed more magnification. After the trip I bought the +5 and +10 subsee's. That helped with the magnification when I was in Komodo. Unfortunately the critters weren't as plentiful there as lembeh.

The problem I have most, I feel is when something like a mimic octopus comes along. I have the 100mm on and can get some close shots....if.....it holds still. If it moves and is swimming, I can't get a good shot of it swimming. Which is a cool shot to get of a mimic. So that is frustrating.

With a cropped sensor, you could use the 60mm and it would be easier to get that kind of shot. But on full frame, I don't know of a good comparable with the 60mm on cropped.

I'm thinking of switching to something when I get back in the water more regularly, as my Z1 is very old tech now, but the choice is getting really mindblowing. The forthcoming GH3 interests me, but I'm concerned about the GH2's banding and lack of Nauticam glass port. I'm hesitant to go full-frame for macro because of the DOF challenges.

I agree 100% Nick the range of new cameras now is mind bending and it makes it almost an impossible choice especially as they all have their faults.

Macro with DSLR can be challenging! Please tell me the things you think I could improve on. I am always looking to improve, and only being able to do 2 dive trips a year, I try to learn as much as possible before I do a trip.

Hope you enjoy it!

Dustin

Hi Dustin,

Nice video man !If you want to pick up any pointers on macro using DSLR, member Escape (EunJae Im ) is a good source.

I like his style and most importantly his effort and patience. One thing I am sure which assist greatly ( aside from tripod ), you must have some sort of external LCD monitor which you can tilt all u like and you do not need to be on the same horizontal plane as camera. EunJae uses Nauticam DP-4 housing for SmallHD monitor. It has focus peaking if you need it. The big LCD screen will help to confirm focus too by a great deal. It can do so much this baby monitor.

In fact because of EunJae video that I linked, I have decided it is worth it to buy Nauticam DP-4 and so I did.I can share all my 3 housings with a single DP-4, so no waste. Lembeh is more macro video friendly than most Indo locations if the object you shoot is on the sand and you have sandy space to lie down to view camera LCD. In some other dive areas, you can't lie down all you like , without "messing" the reef, so that is why DP-4 housing for smallHD monitor is even more important. If there is a thick enough material on your housing and a flat one, a competent machinist can drill a hole and you get the HDMI bulkhead.........assuming your housing internal can have space for HDMI cable routing, without interference to camera controls.

Nice video man !If you want to pick up any pointers on macro using DSLR, member Escape (EunJae Im ) is a good source.

I like his style and most importantly his effort and patience. One thing I am sure which assist greatly ( aside from tripod ), you must have some sort of external LCD monitor which you can tilt all u like and you do not need to be on the same horizontal plane as camera. EunJae uses Nauticam DP-4 housing for SmallHD monitor. It has focus peaking if you need it. The big LCD screen will help to confirm focus too by a great deal. It can do so much this baby monitor.

In fact because of EunJae video that I linked, I have decided it is worth it to buy Nauticam DP-4 and so I did.I can share all my 3 housings with a single DP-4, so no waste. Lembeh is more macro video friendly than most Indo locations if the object you shoot is on the sand and you have sandy space to lie down to view camera LCD. In some other dive areas, you can't lie down all you like , without "messing" the reef, so that is why DP-4 housing for smallHD monitor is even more important. If there is a thick enough material on your housing and a flat one, a competent machinist can drill a hole and you get the HDMI bulkhead.........assuming your housing internal can have space for HDMI cable routing, without interference to camera controls.

I also love Eunae Im videos. He has helped me quite a bit, as I have sent him a few pm's asking questions.

As for the external monitor, I definitely want one. I just don't know the options to do this for ikelite. I can see the benefits. It is hard getting focus using the LCD on the camera. I need to do more research on this. I do use the same xit404 tripod. Although I had to modify my ikelite to work with it and keep the handles. Love the tripod with the twist clamp legs.

I got back from Komodo in July, and was a bit disappointed with the opportunities there for macro video. The water is clearer than lembeh, but not as many critters. In order to do the tripod, you do need some sand or rubble... And in Komodo there wasn't too much of that. So I was a bit disappointed in the footage I got. (working on the video now). For critters and video, I think lembeh,anilao and dumaguete are far better because of the ability to set down the rig. Plus more critters than Komodo. I did get to use the subsee's for the first time on the komodo trip and that was awesome. Especially using full frame. As well as some lighting techniques that were homemade, but worked pretty good. I will post the video when I am done with it.

Is it true 5D2 when recording, only composite video out ?Actually that wet connector is a good idea. Nauticam HDMI bulkhead for camera side is not small u know.

I am getting UltraLight tripod. It can do sharp foot or ball type.Me got some unique experiment in mind for the tripod hehehe.

Komodo current usually strong, I doubt much macro there. I never been there though.OK me wait for ur Komodo video yah.

ThanksSP

Sp,

I am not sure on the out. I am out of town and will check when I get back. The ikelite has a fair amount of space in the housing. More so than the aluminum housings.....but I am not positive on that.

I was also looking at the ultralight tripod, but was talked out of it. The reason, was that the base is not wide enough, and therefore unstable. Which, after using the xit404, I can see that it would be problem, and glad I went with the xit. Just my thoughts.